alo novo

Several news agency have reported that the plans to build 11 new coal-based power plants across Texas may be reduced due to an offer by a private investment group to purchase TXU. (See the recent article in the Waco Tribune-Herald by staff writer J.B. Smith detailed at http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/02/27/02272007wactxusale.html.)

While doing the math, and recognizing that 3 is less than 11, I remain my pessimistic and cynical self. What if the plan all along was to build 3? How would I build coal plants while 'An Inconvenient Truth' is winning an Oscar?

If I were CEO of an energy company and I wanted to build some coal-based power plants I'd gather all of my rich friends and my politician friends (who are elected or re-elected due to my rich friends) and we'd announce a plan to build 20 'clean' coal plants and put them on a fast track in Texas.

WHAT’S A LESS TOXIC HOLIDAY ?

By Liberty Goodwin, Director, Toxics Information Project (TIP)

A less-toxic holiday is one which enhances health, your quality of life and the environment on which we all depend for sustenance. It’s one in which you are not rushing around, harried and anxious because of the overload of chores and the many decisions needed –about entertaining, family visits or gift giving. Give yourself this year the gift of a more relaxed holiday, and one in which you have the satisfaction of doing things in a responsible, earth and people-friendly way. Points to consider, if you are entertaining: Clean your home – but do it with natural, non-toxic cleaners. Use less-toxic cookware and tableware – Stainless steel, ceramic, cast iron or glass instead of aluminum or non-stick pans and plastic dishes and drinkware. Avoid “air fresheners”, which only cover odors with artificial scents laced with toxic chemicals that offend or even sicken many people. Serve healthy natural food, and don’t feel you need to overload your guests with rich foods and sweets. Moderation, along with creative cooking and seasoning, will leave them happier than excesses that lead to indigestion! If you are going somewhere as a guest, don’t douse yourself with perfume. A few drops of totally natural essential oil is more likely to prove attractive.

I am very pleased to present a very preliminary look at our plans for the next major release of alonovo.com.

The most significant new features are related to what we are calling the Universal Cart (UC) and Context-Sensitive Content Placement (CSP). Those powerful new functions will enable small local community merchants to transact through alonovo.com and our growing community, provide the foundation for internationalization through global partners such as Ethiquette.ca in Canada and highlight notable sustainable products from select merchants.

The document is being updated fairly consistently and is a work in progress (not finalized). As soon as we raise the required investment we will work toward implementation as soon as possible.

John Tepper Marlin, Ph.D. Principal, CityEconomist.com and Adjunct Professor of Business Ethics, Stern School, NYU

Why the Grouse About the RED Campaign

The red grouse (lagopus lagopus) is a middling plump game bird with a hook-tipped bill. It flies up suddenly from the heather, its pale-feathered legs and feet flying, while it calls with a rapid, explosive noise that sounds like "go-back, go-back."

By Charles Derber

I’ve been reading Philip Roth’s novel, The Plot Against America. It’s a stunning account of how the US went fascist under President Charles Lindbergh. In Roth’s book, Lindbergh defeated President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940 by campaigning against war with the Nazis. If you think this is pure fiction, read the book!

We just recently learned that some major communication companies, including Sprint (recently merged with Nextel), MCI (formerly WorldCom) and AT&T (recently acquired by SBC Communications), have been covertly cooperating with the Administration for several years in spying on US citizens. The corporations have been facilitating eavesdropping on Americans without court warrants, opening up mainstream communication arteries in the nation for Big Brother surveillance.

By Martha Sanders, Tax Media Assistant, United for a Fair Economy

Opportunity is knocking. Can you hear it? There are always superstars of
all races for whom doors seem to open with sound of their voices. There
will be PBS specials this month celebrating the powerful black leaders who
faced unparalleled challenges to become successful inventors, business
people, advocates, and civil rights heroes. Their stories have been
sources of great inspiration for people of all races for generations.

It¹s easy look at the successes of people from Frederick Douglass to Oprah
Winfrey to Barack Obama and feel like we have succeeded in eliminating the
inequality which has abounded in the United States since before its
inception. But these heroes are the exception, not the rule. There is a
mass of people trying to make it to the door, and many more who aren¹t even
close enough to hear opportunity knocking.

We have been celebrating Brown v. Board of Education for over 50 years, and
yet we still live in a world of segregated opportunities.

Yes, the chance to succeed is there for everyone. From free public schools
for K-12 to public grants and loans for higher education, access is
available for any hard-working American who chooses to open the door.

But if it is true that we all have the same chance to succeed, we should all
be seeing the same outcomes from education. This is clearly not happening.

The most utilized path to success comes through education, but education
still benefits white children more than it does children of color. In 2004,
out of the population between 16 and 24 who were not in school, only 7% of
the white population lacked a high school diploma. Compare that with 12% of
the black population and 24% of the Hispanic population. That means 93% of
white students graduate high school, but only 88% of black and 76% of
Hispanic students do.

As if these statistics aren¹t bad enough. What can explain why 28.6% of
the white population over the age of 25 has a bachelor¹s degree while only
17.3% of the African American population has a bachelor¹s degree? These
disparities are a clear sign that it takes more than being a hard-working,
intelligent individual to succeed in America¹s education system. It takes
the privilege that comes with good schools and middle-income families that
tend to be white.

What¹s worse is that after college, not even the buying power of education
is equal among the races. According to a new report by United for a Fair
Economy, a bachelor¹s degree earns $500,000 more over a lifetime for white
students than it does for black students.

Something is separating people of color from the opportunity that is
knocking at the front door. We need to break down the obstacles.

One obstacle worth looking at is the way we fund primary and secondary
education in America. When schools are funded through local property taxes,
wealthier areas get higher quality education, from newer books to lower
teacher turnover to more honors and AP classes that help snag more
scholarships for college. We clearly need to reform the funding system to
demonstrate that all children are worthy of quality education, not only
those whose parents can afford a nice piece of property.

We have come a long way towards equality in the US, but we are not done. We
cannot point to the few heroes who are passing through the door and say,
See? She did it! Everything¹s okay. Anything is possible for anyone.² We
can¹t rest until race no longer determines who is truly free to open the
door to opportunity.

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Martha Sanders is Tax Media Assistant at United for a Fair Economy, a
non-profit, non-partisan organization that spotlights the growing wealth
divide in the U.S..

By Darius Ross, Member of the Responsible Wealth Project, United for a Fair Economy

Pebbles
by Suzanne Stenson O'Brien

Originally published for MOMbo

I have shiny pebbles in the bottom of my washing machine that I have washed for almost two years. Each load of cold socks peeled from the bin dings and clinks as the pebbles fall back to the bottom, too large to wash through the drain.

I keep my pebbles—some white, some brown, one black: like a little country—in my washing machine intentionally. They rotate and grind in memoriam of our august innocence, summer 2001, moving through life in a pocket, carefully selected from the turtle sandbox in our yard, or clinging to a tropical print towel that spent a sunny afternoon on the shores of Lake Superior. The pebbles remind me of a time "before" terrorism; before fear and confusion carved this line in my brow; before I craved and loathed my Times subscription, in that sultry summer rocking my family carefully and slowly toward the horizon.